The Great Barrier Reef

Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) frolic in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef. Already under stress from the impacts of climate change such as ocean acidification and temperature rise, the Great Barrier Reef is now under further threat from Australia's coal boom. Inland coal mines will transport the coal to shipping ports along the Queensland coast to be shipped through the Reef resulting in a massive increase in shipping through the World Heritage area. The proposed developments prompted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee to consider placing the GBR on the “World Heritage in Danger” list. Greenpeace is calling for a moratorium on all developments in the region until a Strategic Assessment of the impacts of the developments has been completed.04/12/2010